I try to bluff.
“I’m going into the house of a man I just met,” I stammer. “The last time this happened, it didn’t end well for me.”
I try to make the lie as close to the truth as possible. After all, the truth is that I’m terrified; only Cyrus doesn’t need to know why.
I’m about to enter the belly of the beast. I have to locate three, priceless watches that were made tens of thousands of years ago – back when humanity lived on Old-Earth.
Those were simple times – or so I was told. That was long before humanity met the Toads and the Aurelians, and before the Scorp scourge nearly wiped our species out.
Cyrus seems to have forgotten his anger from moments earlier.
“There’s nothing to fear, Mia,” he reassures me. “As beautiful as you are, the rumors of our… ahem… mating frenzy are embellished. We are not beasts…”
He smirks.
“…unless you draw it out of us.”
I blink.
Draw it out of us?
A shiver runs downs my spine. Part of me wants to draw such behavior out of him – out of them.
I’m ashamed to even admit that. I’d never before considered joining an Aurelian harem – not for real. Not to mention, I wouldn’t…
Not even for these three Aurelians, and not even if they wanted me to. The idea of being just one out of a dozen or more women feels so… pathetic.
Just one more woman desperately vying for the attention of three men who can fuck whoever they want, whenever they want. I’d feel so jealous if I ever developed feelings for these Aurelians.
I need to make my intentions – or lack of intentions – clear.
“You don’t have to worry about that,” I say, a little too coldly. Cyrus says nothing – but the smirk he gives me is infuriating. It’s like he’s wordlessly challenging me – as if to say: we’ll see.
The shuttle finally swoops down over a huge mansion. It’s built in a different style than the others, and I instantly know it has to belong to the Aurelians.
Still, I make sure to ask:
“Is that… is that where you live?”
Cyrus laughs. “So, you are impressed.”
I can’t help but smile – shaking my head at his infuriating banter.
As the shuttle descends, I get a great view of the estate – laid out before me like an oversized dolls’ house.
There’s a long orchard of honey-fruit trees, and a massive vineyard of ruby red grapes. One of the Aurelians must like wine, since there’s harvesting equipment and a grape press on display, too.
There’s also an outdoor pool the size of a lake, and the mansion itself is a palace; bigger than some of the apartment buildings in Sector 2 that house hundreds of families within them.
I am impressed – but I can’t let Cyrus know that.
“You’re very boastful,” I snip.
“We have a lot to boast about,” he quips back quickly, flashing me that infuriating smirk. I’m annoyed at how it makes butterflies churn in my stomach. It’s so unfair that the Gods gave this Aurelian a quick wit to go along with his immense riches and that perfectly muscled body.
The shuttle touches down softly on a landing pad, and the door slides open. I drop the ice back in the bucket as the warm air drifts in. My eye already feels better.
So, I’m here.
Now, I’ve got three weeks to get those watches.
That’s how long the buyer gave Darr for the task. I had to memorize pictures of them. The brand names and information about the watches are stored in my mind.
I remember exactly what they look like. If you presented me with a hundred watches, I’d be able to pick those three out – the way one of them has the black face, and the hand that counts the seconds in a sweeping motion, and the other that has the hundreds of mechanical parts inside on display through the glass, all moving seamlessly together like magic.
They’re pointless things – we have digital clocks built into our communication devices, hologram projectors, and even our refrigerators – but they are artefacts of intricate beauty. What manner of craftsmen must it have taken to assemble such things? Piecing together cogs and gears the size of grains of rice – securing them so tightly they’ll operate flawlessly for centuries or more.
Ancient Earth artifacts such as these watches draw huge prices on the open market. They’re so rare that many are willing to cheat, steal, or even kill for them.
I am in the second category of what I’m willing to do.
Darr is in the third.
Cyrus hops out of the ship. He lands gracefully for such a big man, and I suddenly believe all the stories of how quick and deadly the alien species can be in battle. Cyrus has the grace of a cat… but looks as deadly as a lion.
He turns and extends his hand upward. I accept it, allowing him to help me out of the shuttle and down to the ground.
A cobblestone path leads from the landing pad to the immense manor house. It’s flanked on both sides by towering, bountiful trees that must guzzle water constantly – a rare and expensive commodity on Deemak. Only the truly elite can afford such lush gardens on this desert planet; and of those, none come close to this veritable oasis. These three Aurelians must have perfect business sense to have been able to amass such a fortune.
So – why don’t their instincts let them know something is off about me?
Or do they know already?
My intuition tingles. I feel like I’m walking straight into a trap – and yet Cyrus seems completely relaxed in my company. He walks with broad, long steps, a wry smile on his impossibly handsome face.
“Slow down,” I demand, scurrying to catch up to him. My simple maid uniform is coarse against my
